41. Soda Can cause Fatty Liver Disease

It’s common at weddings, parties, braais and get-togethers to see people guzzling down cooldrinks and juices. What concerns me is many of these people are often already overweight and indulge in this habit happily not realising the havoc it is causing in their bodies. Much as we blame media for encouraging consumption of sugar loaded drinks, its about time we learn and share the effect of sodas and juices on our livers and overall health. Fatty Liver Disease is common amongst alcoholics but did you know you also get Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by drinking too much soda and fruit juices?http://www.besthealthnutritionals.com/blog/2015/06/25/soda-causing-fatty-liver-disease/

A drinking habit can wreck your liver. No surprise right?
But I’m not talking about the kind of drinking habit you’re thinking of.
Everyone knows how heavy boozing can turn your liver into Swiss cheese. But there’s another kind of drink out there that’s even worse than alcohol — a drink that can do just as much damage, and even more quickly than the booze.
And it’s a drink you’ve almost certainly had yourself, maybe even today.

Soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks — even summer favorites such as lemonade or sweet tea — can set the stage for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to new research published in the Journal of Hepatology.
You don’t have to have a straw in your mouth morning, noon and night to face this risk, either.

All it takes is a single sugar-sweetened beverage per day, according to the study.
Your liver converts the fructose in sugar into glycogen and fat. Since your capacity for glycogen is very limited, most of it becomes fat — and while some of that fat gets sent out into the body, some of it stays right there in the liver.

Over time, it builds up in the liver and leads to what’s known, appropriately enough, as a fatty liver. In this case, it leads to the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease we see in the new study — and while it’s a problem that starts in the liver, it has a snowball effect throughout your entire body.

Your liver can’t function properly when it’s being smothered in fat, and that in turn ignites the chain reaction that leads to metabolic problems, including insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes. It can also lead to heart disease and even liver failure.

Unlike fat on your waistline, you can’t see the fat in your liver so most people don’t realize they’re at risk for the condition. For many people, the first time they even hear the phrase “fatty liver” is when the doctor tells them they have it.That’s much too late.

By then, you’re already at risk for — and may even already have — conditions such as diabetes. That’s why it’s essential to slash your risk now, and that means giving up all sugar-sweetened drinks and to limit all sources of added sugar in your diet.